Is It Safe? Everything You Need To Know.

As the popularity of cryptocurrencies grows, so does the number of exchanges that are springing up to provide services. Bitfinex is a large cryptocurrency exchange that is quite popular among internet traders.

Bitfinex with 24 hr volume of $10.9 billion as of March 2022 is the world’s top cryptocurrency exchange. This offers a variety of features and is known for its low fees and reliability. 

In this Guide, we will do a Bitfinex Exchange Review with the latest info, how-to guide, fees & Limits, and the latest updates for traders and investors.

Overview

Legal Name Bitfinex
Official Web Addresshttps://www.bitfinex.com
HeadquartersHong Kong
FoundersGiancarlo Devansini (CFO) & Raphael Nicolle.
CEOJ.L.van der Velde.
Exchange TypeCentralized
Trading OptionsMargin, Spot, P2P, Derivatives, OTC
Trading feesTaker fee: 0.20%, Maker fee: 0.10%.
Trading pairs440+
Native TokenLEO Token
Deposit methodsCredit/Debit cards, Crypto wallet address
Deposit fees0.1% for fiat
Withdrawal methodsBank, Crypto wallet address.
Withdrawal fees Based on cryptocurrency
Supported Countries 52
Restricted countriesIran, Iraq, the United States, and more.
Supported Fiat currenciesUSD, GBP, EUR, JPY, CNH.
Mobile AppGoogle Play, App store
Customer SupportLive chat, Email.

What is Bitfinex?

Launched in 2012. Bitfinex is a Hong Kong-based company founded by Raphael Nicolle. It is a cryptocurrency exchange based in the British Virgin Islands, owned and operated by iFinex.inc.

The current CEO of Bitfinex is  JL van der Velde.

Bitfinex offers its users 170+ coins and 440+ trading pairs to trade. Has multiple features like a high liquidity interface, advanced chart tools, corporate accounts,s and much more.

The exchange is known as one of the world’s biggest and most advanced crypto exchanges.

Bitfinex supports both fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, offering many trading options, limit order, stop order, adaptive interface, and more. 

As of March 2022, It is ranked 8th on Coinmarketcap‘s list of spot exchanges due to its large trading volume and active users. On Coingecko it is on the 13th rank in the list of spot exchanges.

Is Bitfinex Safe And Secure?

Well, we can’t say it is the most secured exchange due to the hack events in 2016 and money laundering events in 2017 and 2022. 

The security team of bitfinex is constantly improving and reducing the attack surface of the exchange. 

For account protection bitfinex uses the following security measures:

  • Two-factor authentication for logging in, API keys, and withdrawals.
  • Universal 2nd factor for physical security key.
  • On a per-feature basis, API Keys with advanced read/write permissions.
  • Advanced verification tools like detecting IP addresses, Email notifications for logins with a link attached to freeze an account at the time of suspicion.
  • Withdrawals are protected by whitelisting the addresses so that there is no chance of misplace.
  • Encrypted Email communication(PGP) adds an extra layer of privacy.

For cryptocurrency assets, there are the following securities:

  • Up-to-date linux systems to boost up the platform.
  • Automatic  database backup in real-time on encrypted hard-drives.
  • Spontaneous Distributed Denial Of Service Protection(DDOS) to avoid external attacks.

Bitfinex Exchange pros and cons

Pros

  • Offers margin and derivative trading.
  • Advanced chart features
  • Low fees charges for trading.
  • Allows paper trading.

Cons

  • Hacking history and money laundering events.
  • US citizens are not allowed to trade.
  • Not friendly for beginners.

Bitfinex Features

  1. Trading Options : The exchange provides trading facilities like spot, margin, P2P margin lending, derivatives and OTC.
  1. Margin Funding : By offering money to traders who wish to trade with leverage, the Bitfinex margin funding market provides a secure opportunity to earn interest on fiat and digital assets. Users can offer money in a variety of currencies and assets, at any rate and for any length of time. Furthermore, consumers may utilize the Auto-Renew option to automatically renew deals after they expire.
  1. Honey Framework: Honey allows you to trade algos on the battle-tested Bitfinex infrastructure right from your browser. There is no need to install anything; you can get started right away.
  1. Bitfinex Borrow: Bitfinex Borrow is a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform that allows users to borrow money from other users in exchange for cryptocurrency assets.
  1. Bitfinex Token : UNUS SED LEO is a cryptocurrency token designed to empower the bitfinex community. With a total supply of 936,888,198.90 and burned tokens 63,111,801.10. Users get special discounts on trading fees for holding LEO tokens.
  1. Staking and lending : Users can earn upto 16.74% per year by just holding the digital coins in your account. You can also earn rewards on the cryptocurrencies you hold on your bitfinex wallet.
  1. Bitfinex wallet : Bitfinex offers 3 types of wallets and they are exchange wallet, funding wallet and margin wallet.
  1. Order Types: Bitfinex offers limit, market, stop, stop limit, trailing stop, scaled, fill or kill and Immediate or cancel.
  1. Affiliate Program : You can earn multiple rewards by inviting social networks to use the bitfinex platform. Create a link and share them on social media. Affiliates can earn fees by 3rd degrees. 

Bitfinex Fees And Limits

Bitfinex does not charge any fees for registration and crypto Deposits. For fiat deposits the fee is 0.1%. Withdrawal fees depend on the currency the user wants to withdraw. 

If the user holds the LEO coin, traders get discounts on trading fees. The higher the volume traded, the lesser the fees. 

Maker fees can be anywhere between 0.000% and 0.100%. Taker fees can be 0.055% to 0.200%.

Bitfinex supported currencies

Currently, bitfinex supports 171 coins and 434 trading pairs. Some of the major one include:

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Tether
  • Terra
  • Solana
  • XRP
  • Sushi
  • Litecoin
  • Polkadot
  • Cardano
  • USD coin
  • Avalanche
  • Dogecoin
  • Zcash

Some of the popular trading pairs:

  • BTC/USD
  • ETH/BTC
  • LUNA/USD
  • BTC/JPY
  • LTC/USD

Supported Fiat currencies

  • US Dollar(USD)
  • Euro(EUR)
  • Pound Sterling(GBP)
  • Japanese Yen(JPY)
  • Chinese Yuan(CNH)

Bitfinex Supported Countries

Bitfinex offers its services worldwide including:

  • Australia
  • United Kingdom
  • South Africa
  • Norway
  • Italy
  • France 
  • Germany and others

Restricted countries

Iran, Iraq, Vanuatu, Syria, United States, Yemen, Korea, Uganda, Ethiopia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.

Mobile App Of Bitfinex

Bitfinex has launched its own mobile app where users can download it from the App Store and Google Play

For iPhone users. The file size is 73.3 MB. Requires IOS 12.0 or higher. Rated 4+.

For Android users. The file size is 64MB. Requires 5.0 and higher. Rated 3+.

How to Register on Bitfinex? 

  1. Visit the official website of Bitfinex. Navigate to ‘Sign up’.
  2. Enter your Username, Email, create a password, add a referral code if any.
  3. Click ‘Sign up’.
  4. For the security of the account, enable 2FA. Tap ‘continue’.
  5. Enter 6-digit code, click ‘Enable’.
  6. A box appears to confirm your Email address, Click ‘Confirm Email Address’.
  7. Now you are all set to login into your account and access the features.

How to Recover your password on Bitfinex?

  1. Visit the official website of Bitfinex. 
  2. On the login page, tap ‘forgot password’.
  3. Enter your registered Email address. Click ‘Submit’.

Check your Mailbox, click on the link and set your new password.

How to do KYC verification on Bitfinex?

  1. Login into your account. Go to ‘Manage Account’, select ‘Verification’.
  2. Choose an individual type of account.
  3. There are 3 levels for verification : Basic Plus, Intermediate or Full.
  4. Enter your phone number, email address, and residential address.
  5. Upload the valid documents like passport, national ID card, driving license, residency card, employment permit card, etc (any 2).
  6. Click your selfie holding your identity. For Ex: Bank statement.
  7. For full Verification level you only need to upload proof of Residential address.
  8. Click ‘Submit’ to complete the verification

How to Fiat Deposit in your Bitfinex account?

  1. To make fiat deposits you need a Full verification level.
  2. Go to ‘Deposit page’. Click ‘Bank wire’, select the currency you want to deposit.
  3. Enter the amount and Select ‘Exchange wallet’.
  1. You will receive an Email within 48 hrs regarding bank account details for which deposit should be made.
  2. You may now make a deposit using the bank wire information that was supplied to you.

How to deposit Cryptocurrencies on Bitfinex?

  1. The account verification level should be intermediate to make a deposit.
  2. Login into your account. Go to the deposit page.
  3. Choose the cryptocurrency you want to deposit and the wallet you want to deposit.
  4. Copy the address and paste it to your external wallet.

How to Withdraw Fiat From Bitfinex account?

  1. Make sure your account is fully verified. 
  2. Go to the withdrawal page. Choose the fiat currency. 
  3. Enter the amount and choose the wallet you want to withdraw.
  1. Select express wire for quick process. You will be asked to enter the information related to the bank.
  1. Press ‘Request Withdrawal’. Check your Email and confirm your withdrawal.

How To Withdraw Cryptocurrencies on Bitfinex?

  1. Login into your account. Go to the wallets > Withdraw.
  2. Select the cryptocurrencies you want to withdraw.
  3. Enter address, amount, and wallet.
  1. Click ‘Request Withdrawal’. Check your Email, enter the code and confirm the withdrawal.

How to Buy Crypto with a Debit/Credit Card?

  1. Login into your account. Navigate to ‘Deposits’.
  2. Choose payment cards(credit or debit). Choose payment methods like Simplex, OWNR, or Mercuryo.
  3. Choose the currency from the list. Select the exchange wallet you want the funds to be deposited.
  4. Agree to the terms of third-parties and finish the payment process.
  5. You will be redirected to the bitfinex page showing that the process was successful.

How to Sell Cryptocurrencies on Bitfinex?

  1. Login into your page. Go to the trading section.
  2. Select the trading pair you want to tarde.
  3. Scroll down to the section of ‘Order Form’.
  4. Select the type of order, order size and amount for limit order. For market order, the order will be executed at the current market price.
  5. Click ‘Exchange sell’ and now your order is completed.

Traders Reviews

According to the Trustpilot reviews, Bitfinex has an overall rating of 2.6.

Some of the traders comments are:

Bitfinex-trade investment company is a good,genuine and reliable company, they are trustworthy as far as business is concerned, withdrawal problem, invested severally and always receive my withdrawals with the expected profit repeatedly, Indeed, they are good business people, etc.

Coinpedia Review:

Cybersecurity9/10
Liquidity8/10
Customer support5/10
Online reputation9/10
Total Trust score9/10

Bitfinex FAQ

How long does the verification process take?

For intermediate or full verification level, it will take 2-3 working days. For basic it will take 30 seconds to complete the process.

Is a Demo account available on Bitfinex?

Yes, Bitfinex offers a paper trading account where users can take advantage and learn trading with risk-free advantage.

How can I pay less fees on Bitfinex?

You can pay less fees by increasing trading volume, Hold Leo tokens, affiliate program, and developers reward.

How to move funds to a derivative wallet?

Go to wallet page > Quick transfer > Enter the amount, currency, From wallet and To wallet > Transfer.

What are the benefits of Bitfinex?

Web socket, API Python Key, understandable fee structure, low fees, advanced features  and quick transactions.

Closing Thoughts

Bitfinex is one of the most well-known cryptocurrency exchanges nowadays. The exchange has a lot of USD liquidity and a lot of orders and trading options, and it’s the biggest BTC exchange in terms of volume transacted.

However, because Bitfinex has been the subject of controversy several times and is not a particularly transparent firm, we would advise anyone utilizing Bitfinex to only retain a minimal amount on the exchange at any given moment.

Bitfinex is the most popular exchange in terms of trading volume. It is well-known in the market for offering the most affordable rates.

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Source: https://coinpedia.org/exchange/bitfinex/